By Andrew Warshaw
October 26 – Tokyo Sexwale, the South African former political prisoner turned successful businessman, has finally confirmed he is standing for FIFA president and will prove a popular choice among those who have been campaigning for an independent candidate untarnished by footballing corruption.
Sexwale, the fifth candidate to declare before the midnight Monday deadline, is not a complete outsider since eligibility rules state all candidates must have had an “active” role in the game for two of the last five years.
But he will be regarded as a contender with genuine gravitas and global respect as he bids to become the first African to land the position.
With UEFA president Michel Platini suspended and all the other challengers with various minus points against them, Sexwale, who was submitting the necessary paperwork to FIFA on Monday ahead of the deadline, could end up as a compromise candidate among the six regional confederations. His national federation said it had unanimously endorsed him.
Sexwale, a close friend of the late former South African president Nelson Mandela with whom he spent 13 years on Robben island, has been an adviser to FIFA’s anti-discrimination panel for the past two years and also leads the FIFA monitoring group trying to find a compromise solution between Israeli and Palestinian football, a mission given to him by Sepp Blatter.
If he is backed as the preferred candidate for the entire African continent, it could put him in a strong position given that Africa is FIFA’s largest confederation, with 54 voting members.
SAFA president Danny Jordaan, who ran South Africa’s 2010 World Cup organising committee, says Sexwale, who is estimated to be worth some $200 million, has his full support. “He’s been a chair of many boards and I think he has the credentials. He’s also been of FIFA committees for many years,” said Jordaan.
Sexwale’s first task will be to attend the Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee meeting in Cairo on Tuesday and Wednesday. With African backing so crucial, other candidates including Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan will also be in the Egyptian capital lobbying for early support.
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